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Hurricane Maria killed more than 4,600 people — more than 70 times the official toll of 64, study says.

The death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was probably more than 70 times the official estimate, a Harvard study says. Puerto Rico officials say 64 people died when Maria roared through the island Sept. 20.

Hurricane Maria killed more than 4,600 people — more than 70 times the official toll of 64, study says.

José Campeche High School in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico still hasn’t seen any recovery money from state or federal agencies for repairs, said Candido Rivera, the school’s director. “Everything we’ve done, we’ve done by ourselves,” he said.
Carrie Cochran/USA TODAY Network, Rick Jervis/USA TODAY

The coastal surge from Hurricane Maria reached up to 5 feet or more, devastating the town of Toa Baja in Puerto Rico.(Photo: Ricky Flores, Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY NETWORK)

Hurricane Maria likely killed thousands of people across Puerto Rico last year, more than 70 times the official estimate, a Harvard study released Tuesday says.

Authorities in Puerto Rico placed the death toll at 64 after Maria roared through the island Sept. 20, destroying buildings and knocking out power to virtually the entire U.S. territory of more than 3 million people.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, however, surveyed more than 3,000 households on the battered island. By extrapolating those findings, researchers determined that at least 4,645 "excess deaths" occurred during the storm and the weeks that followed.

The researchers said the number was conservative and that the death toll likely exceeded 5,000. Many of the deaths were due in part to power outages that crippled medical and other services.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, issued a statement calling the Harvard totals "heartbreaking" and describing the federal response to the storm as "woefully inadequate."

"The 2018 hurricane season begins this week, and it is critical that we do not repeat the mistakes of last year," Thompson said. "We can and must do better for all Americans.”

Only one hurricane to hit the U.S. has taken more lives than the study estimates Maria did. The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 killed more than 6,000 people.

More than 1,800 people died when Katrina roared across the U.S. Gulf Coast as a Category 5 hurricane in 2005. More than 1,500 of those deaths were in Louisiana.

The Harvard study notes that in Puerto Rico every disaster-related death must be confirmed by the Institute of Forensic Sciences. The system counts only bodies that are brought to San Juan or were confirmed by a medical examiner traveling to the local municipality.

The system also fails to capture indirect deaths resulting from worsening of chronic conditions or from delayed medical treatments, the study says.

"These difficulties pose substantial challenges for the accurate and timely estimation of official all-cause hurricane-related mortality," the report says.

Maria raked across Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest storm to hit the island in 89 years and among the strongest ever to strike the U.S.

Maria was one of three horrific hurricanes in 2017 — Harvey and Irma were the others. All three are among the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

Maria caused an estimated $90 billion in damage, making it the third costliest ever in the United States. Katrina remains the costliest hurricane on record at $160 billion.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has approved $1 billion in individual assistance grants for residents of Puerto Rico. More than $500 million has been designated for repairs to bridges, government buildings and other structures.

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Damaged homes and trees stripped of their leaves are seen throughout Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on Oct. 2, 2017, eleven days after Hurricane Maria struck the island. Yabucoa bore the strongest brunt of the storm before it weakened somewhat over Puerto Rico's mountainous terrain. Wind gusts here weren't accurately measured because the storm destroyed local radar stations, but at least three tornadoes were observed around Yabucoa, said Gabriel Lojero, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service San Juan. Ricky Flores & Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY NETWORK

"I'm not well. I'm nervous," Irma Torres, 75 said on Feb. 28, 2018. "I don't sleep. I'm afraid that we get another storm and I end up drowned at sea." Her small home sits on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Yabucoa bore the strongest brunt of the storm before it weakened somewhat over Puerto Ricoís mountainous terrain. Maria tore off part of her roof and pushed the sea right up to her kitchen window. The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran (Via OlyDrop) Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY

The long, dark nights have been wearing on Irma Torres, 75. With only a wall to her back and a short, steep drop separating her from the Caribbean Sea, she sits with her granddaughter Sol Fernandez, 17 with a solar-powered light on Feb. 28, 2018. Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY

As dusk sets in on Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Junior Martinez visits his neighbors, who are also his family members. His uncle, Rafael Martinez, lives in this house, where Hurricane Maria lifted and curled the cement and rebar-enforced roof. Nearly six months after the category four hurricane hit, they, like the majority of the city, are still without power on Feb. 28, 2018. Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY

Solar cells charge outside of Sol Fernandez's home in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on Feb. 28, 2018, near the spot where Sol and her mom, Yasmin Morales, slept on the ground for five days right after Hurricane Maria tore their roof off. Small animals and spiders bit them as they slept, Sol said. Hurricane Maria first made landfall in this city of 37,000, where, nearly six months after the category four hurricane hit, electricity has returned to only 35% of its residents. Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY

Cars pass leaning and mangled wires and electrical posts in Yabucoa on Feb. 28, 2018, nearly six months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Only 35% of the city, which is where Maria first made landfall, has power. Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY

Ramona Ramos stands in her Yabucoa home, which she is rebuilding on Feb. 28, 2018. She rode out Hurricane Maria at her sister's house, but returned to find only her bathroom standing. The building process has been slow as labor and materials are expensive and hard to find. She's relying on her nephew to do most of the work. Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY

"It's a new life for me. Everyone left," said Lucy Diaz Matos, living under a makeshift roof and without power in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on Feb. 28, 2018. She said her husband and the majority of her neighbors have moved away. Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY